Visa, Mastercard & Rupay to launch interoperable QR code payments

The biggest hindrance for customers is that these codes are not read across all wallet applicationsPratik Bhakta&Mugdha Variyar | ET Bureau | Updated: December 30, 2016, 10:00 IST

Visa, Mastercard and Rupay are all set to launch a quick response (QR) code-based application that would enable merchants accept payments from customer's mobile phone without the bulky, expensive point of sales (PoS) machines.

At a time when mobile wallet companies are going on a blitzkrieg onboarding merchants to accept QR code-based payments, the biggest hindrance for customers is that these codes are not read across all wallet applications.

Hence, banks along with payment companies are set to launch their own QR code-based payment, which will be interoperable by the middle of January. This will allow customers with a bank account and smartphone to make payments digitally without bothering about the service provider.

“The QR code that is being developed will be able to identify all Visa, Mastercard and RuPay customers and at the back end, will be interfaced with the bank's mobile banking or mobile wallet applications,“ said a senior banker who is associated with the process of developing this application.

“The code will be given as a print-out to merchants to start accepting payments,“ the per son said.With the government pushing bankers to promote digital payments, especially for small value transactions, an interoperable system is the need of the hour which made the Reserve Bank of India instruct payment players to develop codes that can be read by any bank customer.

“RBI has asked us to work with other networks and have a common QR code. Just like a PoS terminal can use any card, RBI has said that the QR code should be interoperable. All the three networks have worked together and have made interoperable standards for QR code ready for banks,“ said TR Ramachandran, group country manager, India and South Asia, Visa. Bankers say they should be able to roll it out by January.